The Month of January in History - Each Date Illustrated

January 01, this day besides being the start of the New Year in
the US, is Japanese
New Year. Also known as Gantan-sai, Shogatsu, or Oshogatsu, this Shinto holiday celebrates the New Year with prayers for renewal, good health, and prosperity. Happy New Year, everyone!

January 02, this day is Swiss Cheese Day.
In 1953, the U.S. Agriculture Department set rules allowing Swiss cheese makers to use smaller holes in the cheese. The USDA reduced the standard size of the holes by half because new cheese-slicing machinery got caught on larger holes!

January 03, this day is Da Vinci's Flying Machine Day.
In 1496, Leonardo
da Vinci made references in his notebook that suggested he had tested his flying machine. The test didn't
succeed and he didn't try to fly again for several years.

January 04,this day is Postcard Delay Day. In February 2001, a postcard postmarked January 4, 1889, was finally delivered from Australia
to Scotland!

January 05, this day is the birthday of the Copperhead Auto. In 1997, Chrysler first displayed its new Copperhead two-seat sports car designed around a snake theme. The Copperhead was first displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.

January 06, this day is National Smith Day. There are more than
2.7 million Smiths in the United States alone. Hug one today!

January 07, this day is Bloopers Day. In 1984, Dick Clark's
"TV's Bloopers and Practical
Jokes" show premiered on NBC. Do a blooper today. Or play a practical joke. Have fun!

January 08, this day is National Eat a Mallomar Day. Celebrate
today by buying Mallomars and eating the entire box. Yum, yum! Quick bit of trivia: The Mallomar is not available during the summer months because the chocolate would supposedly melt during shipping. Nabisco says it can only offer the Mallomar from early October through April.

January 09, this day is the birthday of Richard Milhous Nixon. Richard
Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, was born in Yorba
Linda, California, in 1913. In 1974, Nixon
became the first President to resign from the presidency.

January 10, this day is Palindromic Minute Day. In 1001, at exactly 10:01 in the morning, a clock set on European time read: 1001,1001, 1001 (10:01, 10/01, 1001). The only other time this happened was at 8:02 p.m. on February 20, 2002. It will never happen again, at least under current dating systems.

January 11, this day is Disco Day. In 1963, the first real American discotheque, Whiskey-A-Go-Go, opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Celebrate today by dancing to your favorite disco music!

January 12, this day is Victory Sausages Day. In 1943 during World War II, the Office of Price Administration declared that Victory Sausages (made of meat and soybean meal) would replace the normal frankfurter or hot dog. Now THAT's sacrifice!

January 13, this day is Door-to-Door Salespeople Day. On the birthday of Alfred Fuller (1885) of Fuller Brush fame, we honor all door-to-door salespeople. Alfred Fuller was born in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Celebrate today by being nice to a door-to-door salesman!

January 14, this day is David Bowie Name Day. In 1966, Davie Jones changed his name to David Bowie so he wouldn't be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees. And the rest is history...

January 15, this day is Virgin Queen Coronation Day. In 1559, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was crowned as Queen Elizabeth I of England. Because she never married, she became known as the Virgin Queen. Trivia fans: Shakespeare wrote all of his plays during her 44-year reign.

January 16, this day is Ivan the Terrible Day? In 1547, Ivan IV was crowned the first czar (emperor) of Russia. Following the death of his wife Anastasia in 1560, Ivan began acting more erraticly. Because his acts also became more brutal, he became known as Ivan the Terrible.

January 17, this day is Hawaii Overthrow Day. On January 17, 1893, American businessmen and sugar planters in Honolulu, Hawaii, overthrew the reign of Queen Liliuokalani and formed a republic. Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959, and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands.

January 18, this day is Delayed Twin Birth Record Day. In 1995, Celeste Keys was born 95 days after her twin brother Timothy (born on October 11, 1994). Her mother Simone had a double uterus, thus allowing Celeste to be carried to term even though her mother went into premature labor with her brother. Now that's labor!

January 19, this day is the birthday of Half.com. In 2000, the townspeople of Halfway, Oregon (all 345 of them) voted to change the town's name officially to Half.com, thus becoming the first dot-com city in the world.

January 20, this day is Savage Women Day. In 1907, sociologist W.I. Thomas of the University of Chicago declared that "women are on an intellectual par with savages." The "savages" ignored him. Celebrate the savage inside of yourself today!

January 21, this day is Bratty Sportspeople Day. In 1990, American tennis player John McEnroe became the first player to be expelled from the Australian Open tennis tournament. McEnroe is best remembered for his confrontational on-court behavior which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities.

January 22, this day is Bruce the Giant Goldfish Day. In 2002, Hong Kong fish breeders Louis and Jackie Chan first displayed the world's largest goldfish, a 15-inch long Red Oranda, the size of an average house cat. They attributed his large size to selective breeding, a good diet, and plenty of exercise. That's big enough to give any hungry cat second thoughts.

January 23, this day is the birthday of Grunge. In 1988, Nirvana recorded a ten-song demo tape with Jack Endino, the godfather of grunge. A producer heard the tape and offered to put out a Nirvana single. Trivia buffs: Kurt had many pets during hislife including a pet rat he called Kitty, a cat named Melvin, and many turtles that he used to take care of.

January 24, this day is the birthday of Lobster Thermidor. In 1894, Lobster Thermidor was created by Marie's, a Paris restaurant near the theatre Comedie Francaise, to honor the opening of the play Thermidor by Victorien Sardou. Lobster Thermidor consists of a creamy mixture of cooked lobster meat, egg yolks, and cognac or brandy, stuffed into a lobster shell.

January 25, this day is A Room of One's Own Day. Have a private place to enjoy silence and aloneness. Celebrate the birthday of Virginia Woolf, the English author who wrote A Room of One's Own (1929), by sprucing up your room and creating a special place of your own.

January 26, this day is Woman Rabbi Day. In 1951, the Temple Beth Israel of Meridian, Mississippi, became the first Jewish congregation to allow women to perform the functions of a rabbi.

January 27, this day is Mad Tea Party Day. On the birthday of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, we celebrate life with a mad tea party! Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was born on January 27, 1832, in Cheshire, England.

January 28, this day is Stung by Bees Day. In 1962, Johanne Relleke of Rhodesia was stung by bees 2,443 times and survived! Bit of trivia: He went deaf in one ear, and years after the ordeal he was thrown to the mat in a judo practice session. Lo and behold a bee popped out of his ear and he could hear again.

January 29, this day is Lopsided Basketball Game Day. In 1964, one Louisiana high school basketball team beat another 211 to 29, the most lopsided high school basketball game ever played. The teams shall remain nameless to protect the honor of the losing team.

January 30, this day is Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Birthday. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, was born near Hyde Park, New York, on January 30, 1882. He is the only president to have been elected to four terms (and the last). Quick bit of trivia: When Roosevelt died he had over 1,000,000 stamps in his collection!

January 31, this day is Primate in Space Day. In 1961, the United States recovered the first large animal (primate) it launched into space. Ham, a chimpanzee, returned to Earth after a 16 minute flight aboard a Mercury-Redstone 2 rocket.